Smoky Mountain High
Exhilaration can arrive in many forms—a breathtaking view from a mountain summit, your best-ever time in a 10K race, or a prize catch on the first day of trout season.
Then there’s the exhilaration of flight, and we’re not talking about a red-eye to the coast. Instead, how about something a little more up close and personal? As in a hot air balloon ride.
The Great Smoky Mountains Hot Air Balloon Festival, slated for Aug. 17 from 4-9 p.m. in Townsend, Tennessee, should provide such an experience.
“It’s just a great event with a lot of fun people,” said Carmen Simpher, president of the Townsend/Cades Cove Gateway Alliance, a primary sponsor of the event. “It’s a pretty cool experience,” she said.
Simpher expects about 5,000 people to attend, but the crowd could swell to between 7,000 to 10,000 if the weather is great.
This will be the eighth year of the festival, which is held at the visitors’ center in Townsend (7906 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway). Interestingly, the debut year saw the biggest crowd—estimated at nearly 15,000—in part because it coincided with a solar eclipse.
“We’ve held this event since 2017,” said Jeff Muir, communications director with Blount Partnership, which is Blount County’s chamber of commerce in Maryville, Tennessee. “The first one was held in conjunction with the eclipse that year,” which helped it get off to a rousing start.
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“It was something new, and it’s been a great success,” Muir said. “It’s been a good draw, and we’ve been fortunate to have good weather.”
One of the main reasons the festival has been such a good draw is its location. Even without an eclipse, the setting is nothing short of spectacular. With the Smokies as a backdrop, it’s hard to go wrong. The mountain vistas in the background combine with colorful balloons in the foreground to provide an often stunning palette.
“You can’t have that just anywhere, Simpher said.
Speaking of color, one feature of the event you will definitely want to check out is the balloon glow. As the sun sets, Simpher said, the balloons will light up—sometimes all at once, or sometimes in a coordinated way that makes it sort of a light show.
“It makes for some really scenic photography,” Muir said.
Typically, there are between eight and 12 balloons on hand. Muir said the visitors’ center grounds has been expanded to 40 acres, and that the festival could possibly accommodate 14 balloons at some point.
The pilots (balloonists) are all licensed and insured professionals. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour for the balloons to inflate, depending on the wind.
“We’re very weather dependent,” Simpher said. The festival is held rain or shine, but certainly organizers are hoping for calm, clear conditions.
The balloons are tethered, since federal law prohibits free flight over National Park land (the visitor’s center is adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park). Still, a 10-minute ride 30 feet in the air can be quite inspirational.
“We’ve had proposals (during rides),” Simpher said, “and one couple got married on a balloon.”
Compared to an airplane or helicopter ride, going up in a hot air balloon is serene and peaceful—there’s relatively little noise from the balloon itself. Floating upward gives passengers an opportunity to figuratively rise above their concerns and worries and relax for a bit.
And while balloons are the obvious focal point of the festival, there will be plenty more attractions to keep you engaged. Also, don’t forget to bring the younger folks.
“We’re very family friendly,” Muir said. “We have a huge kids’ area, with climbing walls and slides.”
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Pets are welcome, as long as they are not frightened by large crowds and the accompanying excitement. They must be leashed and owners must bring along waste bags.
Crafts should be plentiful as well, with vendors coming from around the region to sell their wares.
You’ll also want to come hungry. Usually at least 20 food trucks will be on hand to cater to a variety of tastes, according to Muir.
One of the best ways to take in the festival, Simpher said, is through the VIP Liftoff Package, which is described as an “elevated experience” on the event’s website.
The VIP package, which can be purchased online, provides a tent area for a closer view of the balloons. Also on tap is a catered meal, adult beverages, live music, a tethered ride, parking pass and merchandise.
Parking is available onsite and in locations adjacent to the visitors’ center, Simpher said. No shuttles will be available.
The parking fee is $30, and that includes two admission tickets. Entry tickets by themselves are $5.
It is worth noting that the terrain at the festival grounds can be rough in spots, so walking can be moderately strenuous.
Coming to the festival has developed into an annual trek for many.
“People look forward to it,” he said. “The balloon rides are the big attraction, of course, and folks come for that, but then they stay around.
“We’ve tried to make this more of a regional event,” Muir added. “We want to draw people in from at least a 200-mile radius.”
With the event being on a Saturday, it has provided a boost for the local lodging industry as people come in on Friday night and often stay through the weekend, Muir said. With Townsend being one of three main gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, fun is at your beck and call.
What better way to highlight a weekend getaway?
Balloon fun facts
- The temperature inside a balloon is kept below 238 degrees F.
- Hot air balloons cannot fly in the rain because the water would boil from the heat inside the balloon and melt the fabric.
- The hot air balloon was invented in 1783 by Joseph and Stephen Montgolfier. A rooster, a duck and a sheep were the first passengers, flying for two miles at an elevation of 1,500 feet over the French palace at Versailles.
- President Abraham Lincoln authorized the creation of the Union Army’s Balloon Corps during the Civil War for observation and intelligence gathering of the Confederate forces.
—From gsmballoonfest.com